Phone messaging alert system aids in arrest
Neptune man caught with help from boro residents
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

WEST LONG BRANCH - A new phone messaging alert system in West Long Branch was activated for the first time last week and resulted in the arrest of man who had been conning borough residents out of money.

In response to several suspicious reports of a man going door to door in the borough and asking residents to borrow money, police used the CodeRED system to assist in finding the suspect.

Just nine hours after a recorded phone message describing the suspect and the crimes was sent out to the community, Neptune resident James E. Harrington was taken into custody.

"I love when a plan comes together," said West Long Branch Police Capt. Lawrence L. Mihlon. "Everyone did what they were supposed to do.

"Police came to me about using CodeRED. I recorded the message, and then the community got the message and participated in catching the suspect.

"This system gave us thousands of extra sets of eyes, all looking for this individual," he said, adding, "It surprised even me to see how quickly it worked, a splendid example of the police and the community working together."

CodeRED is a system that calls listed telephone numbers within a designated area and plays a recorded message to alert or notify residents of emergencies or incidents within the area.

The CodeRED system was installed in the borough July 26, according to Mihlon, who said this past week was the first time it was used.

"We have run demonstrations, but this is the first time it was ever used for real," Mihlon said. "That is why I was surprised it worked so well."

The system was purchased at a prorated cost of $3,750 because it was installed mid-year, Mihlon explained.

"Most towns either have, or are looking into, a reverse 911," Mihlon said. "This is like a reverse 911. It is like calling all tissues Kleenex.

"Reverse 911 is a product and we use [the product] CodeRED," he said.

Police began receiving reports two weeks ago about a man knocking on borough doors claiming to be a neighbor locked out of his house, Mihlon said.

The man identified himself as Jim or Jim Russo and said he worked at or owned Luigi's Pizza and lived nearby, according to Mihlon.

The man then proceeded to ask to borrow money for cab fare to go and get extra keys from his wife and never retuned to the residences, according to Mihlon.

West Long Branch Detectives William Lynch and Nick Ferrugiaro immediately began an investigation and determined who the suspect might be, Mihlon said.

"The next step was to find him and put a stop to his activities," Mihlon said. "The detectives had come to me and said they were having several calls reporting this type of incident and were having trouble catching the guy.

"They wanted to try to catch him before there became more victims," he said.

A warning was delivered through CodeRED informing residents of the incidents, giving the suspect's description and telling them to call police as soon as possible after the suspect left, Mihlon explained.

A Victor Avenue resident heard the message and called police, which led to the arrest of 42-year-old Harrington.

The CodeRED message also prompted over a dozen additional residents to call and report that they had also been victimized by Harrington, Mihlon said.

Harrington is being charged with several counts of theft by deception, and an investigation into his crimes is still ongoing by the borough police department, Mihlon explained.

"Right now there are 15 to 20 victims, Mihlon said. "We don't know what else he has done. Some reports said that he didn't take any money and just gained access into the residence to use the phone.

"We don't know if any more calls will come in," he said.

Mihlon added that residents with unlisted numbers and cell phones can add their numbers to the database by going to a link on the borough's Web site.

"We hope to enhance the use of this system by adding a CodeRED information page to our Web site so that anyone who gets one of these calls can read additional information and listen to the message again from their home computer," he said.